Starlight Reunion (IchiMiz)
by ninonijiiro
Summary: Five years ago, Ichigo turned down a confession from Mizuki herself. Jumping to present day five years later, Ichigo calls up Mizuki and invites her to stand on stage with her once again at a Starlight Academy reunion to celebrate Starlight's anniversary.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

I loved you.

Ever since that day, ever since your first performance, I've loved you.

It's strange isn't it? How love works, that is. It's such a powerful emotion. It motivates people to give everything their all. And that's how it was for me, Mizuki Kanzaki.

Everything I did was because of you. I felt like I could keep pushing in my darkest moments. I knew eventually one day you would catch up to me, but not without a fight, of course. After several long years, you were declared the top idol and overcame me. I knew you could do it.

Ichigo Hoshimiya, you stole my heart.

Unfortunately, things never worked out between us. I wish things could've been different, that we could've been together. My feelings were never reciprocated. I'll never forget what you said to me that night.

* * *

"Mizuki-san, I'm flattered," Ichigo said smiling, looking at me in the moonlight. Her ruby eyes glimmered bright under the dark sky illuminated by the beautiful moon, her strawberry scented hair fluttering gently in the wind. We were standing in the same place we always met at on a late night at Starlight Academy.

I looked into her eyes with desperation, my heart racing. What would she say? What would she do now that I've confessed to her?

A moment of silence passed before her lips parted again.

"...But I think it would be unfair to you."

Another moment of silence passed.

"What do you mean, Ichigo?" I asked worryingly as I felt my heart sink.

Ichigo gave me a sympathetic smile and said, "I mean that it would be unfair to you because I admire you."

It suddenly became hard for me to swallow. So she didn't feel the same.

"I see," I whispered, holding back tears. As an idol, I learned how to act, but this particular feelings of what one would probably call heartbreak was almost impossible to mask in the presence of Ichigo.

"I'm sorry," she said back to me, giving me another sweet, sympathetic smile. "I really do admire you, Mizuki-san. You're very important to me."

I smiled back, masking my emotions of sadness.

"You're important to me, too."

* * *

Five years have passed since then. I've cut my hair, I've dated several other people, and I've even tried forgetting the way she oh so gently broke my heart, yet she's still on my mind.

It was a late Saturday night and I was sitting alone in my apartment drinking a hot cup of tea by the fireplace. It was my day off and I spent the day lounging around watching TV, nothing compared to what I used to do as a top idol. I would stay on top of my training if I ever had an off day, which was extremely rare for me.

I sighed and turned off the TV, getting up from the small chair I was sitting in and grabbing my cup of tea, taking a long sip. I looked over to the window and noticed that it was raining outside, and I began humming the tune to Move on Now.

As I was humming, I placed my now empty cup of tea into the sink and headed for the bathroom to take a long, hot bubble bath.

I cranked on the water slowly and allowed it to heat up a bit before I closed the plug and poured in some strawberry-scented body wash. I took off my clothes and threw them carelessly onto the floor, hopping into the bath.

The water was so hot it began to sting at first, but I slowly began to get used to the heat that slowly enveloped me. I began to relax, closing my eyes as the water rose.

 _I wonder how Ichigo's been._

Is it weird to still have her on my mind after five years? I didn't have feelings for her anymore, but some twinge of emotion was lingering and I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

I let out a sigh once more, sinking into the water. It's ridiculous how fast time flies, I thought. Back then, I never would have imagined she would have took my place as top idol. It seems just like yesterday I saw her performance of Idol Katsudou, which greatly caught my attention. I wanted her to catch up to me as quickly as possible.

I let my mind fade away as I sat in the bath for a good fifteen minutes before hopping out. I pulled the bathtub's plug and allowed the water to drain as I wrapped myself up in a towel, heading to my room to find clean clothes to put on.

Opening the drawer of my wardrobe, I pulled out a fresh pair of panties along with a plain white t-shirt and blue shorts. I put them on quickly and threw the towel on the floor carelessly.

 _Where did I put my phone?_

I looked around my room for it, but couldn't seem to find it. I looked literally everywhere, even under my bed and under the piles of clothing I had thrown around the room. I finally walked back into the living room to where I was sitting and saw my phone sitting on the table next to the small, brown chair I was sitting on. I unlocked my phone at the touch of a finger and my heart sank.

 _ **On the screen of my phone was the text: "one missed call from Ichigo Hoshimiya."**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Fumbling around with my phone, I almost dropped it at the sight of her name. Ichigo had called me while I was in the bath and I didn't pick up! I started to become increasingly worried. What if she thought I was ignoring her and came to the conclusion I didn't want to talk to her?

My heart began to race. Should I call her back now or would she think I'm clingy? Surely if I did it later she would think I was too busy to talk to her and feel unwanted. My finger hovered over the call button, my finger shaking slightly.

 _You can do this, Mizuki! It's just Ichigo._

For a moment longer, my finger continued to hover over the call button. I knew there was nothing to be afraid of, but my mind couldn't help but jump to a million conclusions about what Ichigo thought. Reluctantly, I tapped the call button and waited anxiously.

 _Brrring, brriing, brrring, brrring..._

...And the ringing stopped.

"Hello?" Ichigo spoke.

My heart skipped a beat at the sound of her voice.

"Hey Ichigo!" I squeaked a little too excitedly.

"Oh, hello Mizuki-san! I actually just called you."

"Yeah, I saw. I was in the bath, I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay! How have you been?"

"I've been well actually! I missed talking to you. I was surprised you still had my number!"

I could hear Ichigo's familiar old laugh over the phone.

"I would never lose your number, Mizuki-san!" She told me. "After all, you're the person I look up to most and I could never forget you. It feels just like yesterday we were on stage together, too."

I laughed, grinning ear to ear. It really was just like yesterday. I vividly remember performing Idol Katsudou with her in the beginning of her idol career.

"Those days are over, unfortunately. I wanted you to take my place because I knew how hard you were working and I was all burnt out from Aikatsu."

"I'm so grateful we got to stand on stage together! But actually, I did have a question regarding Aikatsu."

I swallowed. I hope it wasn't something bad. Surely she doesn't remember how awkwardly I confessed to her!

"What is it, Ichigo?" I whispered into the phone, swallowing hard.

"Would you stand on stage with me once more, Mizuki-san?"

I paused. I suddenly couldn't speak.

"Hello?" Ichigo spoke again, worry enveloping her voice

"I'm here, sorry. I was just thinking," I managed to reply.

She wants to stand on stage with me again? But I haven't danced in ages! I gave up my idol career and became a model for a popular magazine that was sold all around Japan. I became increasingly worried about how my performance with Ichigo would be, and surely by now she would have passed my level.

"Um-" I began.

"It's okay if you don't want to, Mizuki-san. I know you gave up being an idol for a reason."

"No, it's not that! It's just…"

"I haven't danced in ages. I'm worried you might have overcome me," I laughed nervously.

Ichigo went silent and let out a hearty laugh.

"You know I could never overcome your skills!"

"I know you could have. You have a lot of potential, Ichigo."

Ichigo laughed again and replied, "Not as much as you do."

My heart began to flutter. She's complimenting me like she used to when we were students at Starlight Academy. She always idolized me and really looked up to me. That was one of Ichigo's faults, she could never see the bad in me. When I told her several years ago that I used to eat ice cream after working out sometimes, she looked so surprised. I'm just a person that happened to be an idol at the time.

"Anyway," she started, "we're having a reunion at Starlight Academy next month. I wanted to perform with you!"

"Thank you. I'd love to perform with you, Ichigo."

Ichigo gasped.

"Really, Mizuki-san? Yay! I'm really going to look forward to it. Are you free tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, for a while before I go to work. I head to work around 9am. Would you like to meet up at Starlight around 6am?"

"Of course! I'll see you then. Bye!"

"Bye!"

I pressed the end call button and held my phone close to my chest. My heart was racing with excitement! I get to perform with Ichigo again. _Ichigo of all people!_

I took my phone back into my bedroom and placed it on my nightstand just incase Ichigo wanted to call or text me again. I sprung into bed and mushed my face into the pillow laying on top of my purple sheets. I rolled over onto my back and crossed my arms over my head, smiling and letting out a sigh.

 _I can't believe Ichigo called me._

That night, I had trouble falling asleep. All I could think about was Ichigo, Ichigo, Ichigo. I was so excited to be able to perform with her again that my heart wouldn't stop racing and neither would my mind. I flopped side to side hour after hour. What song would we perform together? What sort of coords will we wear? Those sort of thoughts began to envelop my mind up until around three o'clock in the morning, when my body finally began to relax and fell into a relatively short sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The first thing I heard even before I opened my eyes was my alarm clock going off. I squinted as the early morning sun began to peek through the shades of my bedroom window, looking at my alarm in confusion.

 _Why am I awake at 5:00am?_

As soon as I came to my senses, I realized that today was the day I was going to go see Ichigo and I instantly hopped out of bed, reaching my arms up high above my head and stretching, letting out a big yawn. I headed to the bathroom to go brush my hair and my teeth.

I tiredly squeezed out a tiny dab of toothpaste onto my purple toothbrush, sticking it in my mouth and brushing my teeth as I closed my eyes. I was so exhausted because I got zero sleep last night from thinking about Ichigo. I paused brushing my teeth and looked at myself in the mirror.

My now short purple hair was a total mess. There were bags under my eyes. My clothes were all wrinkled from tossing and turning all night, yet there was a certain twinkle in my eye that screamed excitement.

 _I'm definitely going to need to put on concealer. My face is bright red!_

I grabbed the red wide-toothed comb laying on the counter and began to brush through my locks with not only the comb but my fingers as well. I pat down my hair nicely with a bit of water and tidied it up with a bit of hairspray, laying the comb back in the same spot as I found it. I reached over the counter and grabbed my concealer, dabbing it on my problem areas and blending it out with my fingers. Afterwards, I began to curl my lashes and put a thick coat of mascara on. Closing my makeup bag, I lastly put on my strawberry-scented deodorant before heading to my wardrobe to pick out clothes to wear. I needed something comfortable and easy to move in so I could train with Ichigo. I picked out a pair of amethyst colored sweatpants and another white t-shirt with a random logo on it and quickly put the two things on.

I headed out of my room and into the front door area to put on my gray tennis shoes, grabbing my leather bag that contained towels, my wallet, my keys, and my phone (which I put in it).

Opening the front door, I swing my bag across my shoulder and head outside of my apartment, digging in my purse quickly for my keys to lock the front door. I head down the staircase of my apartment complex until I reach the bottom, walking down the street for a few blocks until I reach the bus stop sitting near a 7 Eleven. It was rather cold and I forgot to bring a jacket, so I sat there shivering on the bus stop's seat for a good ten minutes until the bus arrived.

I quickly climbed up into the bus, picking up a small ticket from the machine near the bus driver's seat by the door. I navigated to the back of the bus and found a seat, sitting down next to a woman with red hair down to her shoulders. She was singing a lovely tune under her breath.

 _Tristar, take higher, Tristar, take higher, triangle, star higher..._

Immediately the song caught my attention and I looked over to her, questioning who she was. It took a moment, but I figured out who I was sitting next to.

"Kaede?"

Suddenly the women whipped her head over to me, her eyes wide. She was frowning, but soon her frown turned into a ear-to-ear grin.

" _Oh my god!_ Mizuki, is that you _?_ " Kaede squeaked.

"Hello Kaede! It's been such a long time, hasn't it?"

"Yes!What are you doing this early in the morning? _"_

"I'm heading to Starlight Academy to see Ichigo!" I replied, smiling.

Kaede winked at me.

" _Strawberry_ , huh? Looks like we're heading to the same place!"

I blushed, fiddling with my hair.

"Is that so? Did she invite you too?"

"Yes she did. Did she mention something about a reunion to you, too?"

I frowned a bit. Even though it was childish, I was hoping Ichigo had only called me.

"Yeah. Ichigo and I will be performing togeth-"

" _My god!_ You and Ichigo? This'll be _big news!_ " She shrieked loudly, people at the bus turning to look at her.

She blushed, scratching the back of her head.

Lowering her voice, she said, "so you and Ichigo, huh?"

I blushed again, looking away for a moment.

"Yeah. I'm excited to work with her again."

"I bet you are! The last time you guys performed together was what, four or five years ago?"

"Surely it's been five by now!" I laughed.

She laughed back, smiling and closing her eyes.

"I'll be taking Shion's place in Powa Powa Puririn for the reunion. She's the main actress for this new idol movie coming out - did you hear about that, by the way? She'll be busy that day with recording for the movie."

"Really? I had no clue!" I replied.

Her eyes shot open.

"Really? But Shion is such a popular actress nowadays! How could you not hear about that?"

I laughed, saying, "I guess I've been living under a rock."

" _Yes!_ " She laughed.

The bus began to chime, signaling our stop. Together Kaede and I hopped out of our seats and put yen in the money box by the bus drivers' seat, hopping out onto the front of the campus of Starlight Academy.


End file.
